In Friday College Town Hall, we post a question about college, and you leave an answer in the comment field.

Today’s question:

 Congress’s 2012 appropriations legislation had some notable eligibility changes to financial aid policy including:

1. Effective immediately and retroactively, students are only eligible for six full-time years of the Pell Grant vs. what used to be 9 years.

2. Students who have only passed an Ability to Benefit test (those who don’t have a GED or high school diploma, or who weren’t homeschooled) will no longer be eligible for federal aid.

3. The family income and expected family contribution scales have shifted slightly, knocking some students out of eligibility. So students who received small grants might become ineligible.

Are you aware of these changes to student federal aid?

Have a thought or an answer? Leave a reply below.

We’ve also asked our @Cappex Twitter followers to chime in! Here’s what people are saying on Twitter:

Every college has its own culture, and with that, strange traditions that rise out of the curious things that can seemingly only happen on a college campus.

These idiosyncratic festivities make up the overall experience and feeling of college and keep the fabric of a college’s community woven together. Plus, they help balance the stress of school with some highly needed fun and general weirdness.

Here are colleges with some of the weirdest and most fun traditions:

Mount Olive College
Mount Olive College, located in Mount Olive, North Carolina, takes to the streets on the last week of April to celebrate the fermented cucumber more commonly known as the pickle. The Pickle Fest, as it’s called, involves copious amounts of pickle eating (of course), canned food drives, a Tour De Pickle, and other fun rides and activities. Whether you consider it a side dish, a snack, or a salty dessert, the pickle is getting the praise it deserves in Mount Olive. We just feel kind of bad for the olive.

College of William and Mary
In a J.K. Rowling-esque tone, the students of William and Mary take part in an annual Yule Log Ceremony just before they scatter for winter break. It’s the holiday tradition where the entire student body gathers in Wren Courtyard as cressets surrounding the area provide light and warmth for the students. Students listen to live holiday music, speakers share holiday traditions, and the college president gives a requisite reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Finals and How the Grinch Stole Christmas while wearing a Santa costume.

Smith College
Since 1877, the women’s college in Northampton, Massachusetts has taken part in a strange but lovely tradition called Mountain Day. On an unannounced beautiful fall day, Smith College’s president rings the college bells to give students an unexpected but welcomed break from classes so that they can hike up the Mountain and pick apples.

Reed College
Reed College truly honors education with their tradition called Paideia. The Greek word roughly translates to “education”. So about ten days before Reed’s spring semester begins, the campus takes part in Paideia–a time to enjoy education without academic pressures. Members of the college, from students to faculty to alumni, offer non-credit, informal courses and lectures on an array of topics. It’s learning without the pressure! True paideia.

Carleton College
A bust of German poet Friedrich Von Schiller that has flown on Air Force One, been dangled from a helicopter, signed by former President Bill Clinton, and most impressively made a cameo on the Colbert Report, is part of a long-running tradition at Carleton College. Since 1957, the students at Carleton take turns “stealing” and displaying the bust around campus. There are few rules to the game, but if the keeper of the Schiller bust is touched while holding the bust, he or she must immediately relinquish ownership without struggle. If you ever come across the bust, you know you’ve been “Schillered”.

Carleton College is just ripe with weird and great traditions. There’s also the baking cookies at Dacie’s tradition, where Carleton students honor the long-time Carleton employee, Dacie Moses’s, legacy of inviting students to her house for cookies and conversation. Dacie donated the house to  Carleton College on the condition that it be used in continuing her cookies and a chat institution. What a yummy tradition.

Scripps College
The highly ranked progressive women’s college knows how to keep that old school touch alive with their tradition of afternoon tea. Every Wednesday afternoon during the school year, Scripps hold afternoon tea in the beautiful Seal Court. Surrounded by a fountain and mosaic murals, the Scripps students can relax, chat, and even have one-on-one discussions with professors while sipping on some tea.

Oak Hills Christian College
Aptly named The Man and the Lake, the Oak Hills tradition follows that after a classmate’s engagement, the groom-to-be is thrown by his classmates into the campus lake. Friends of the betrothed carry him from his dorm to the dock and ask him two questions: “Do you love her?” and “Is she worth it?”.  Say “yes” to both and your friends will most lovingly toss you into the cold Minnesota lake.

Pomona College
A surf and turf tradition known as Ski-Beach takes the students of Pomona College to opposite paradises in the same day. The Ski-Beach tradition takes a busload of Pomona students wearing serious winter gear up to the slops of Mountain High resort in the AM. By the afternoon, the students get back on the bus and head for the beach for a cookout, some swimming, and good old fashion beach time.

Does your school have a tradition we can add to the list? Leave a comment below to share!

When you're doing a college search, it may be worth asking prospective universities about their career services for graduates. Many schools help students find work after they finish their degrees. According to a career services adviser at Bentley University in Massachusetts, many graduates are optimistic about the job market, reports The Washington Post.

Susan Brennan, executive director of the college's career placement services department, says that many graduates are hopeful about their chances of finding work when they leave college. However, she said that career services departments should do more than just help graduates find jobs.

"I am advocating we reach out immediately to incoming first-year students," Brennan told the news source. "We should be encouraging them to start thinking about how their decisions are going to affect their future, to think about learning as it relates to career aspirations."

Despite rising tuition costs and increased competition for places at top schools, a college degree is a worthwhile investment. According to a survey by Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., individuals who graduate with a bachelor's degree earn 84 percent more during their working lives than people who only graduate from high school.

When you're considering filling out college applications, think about how your major will help you find a job when you graduate.

Academic leaders at high schools across the country are focusing on making sure seniors are ready for college by adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

According to a report published by the Center on Education Policy, the CCSS will help students in their senior year of high school prepare for college-level courses. Many experts agree that the CCSS is a step in the right direction, but most states will not implement the new rules until the 2014-2015 academic year.

College readiness is something that many state officials are taking seriously. According to The New York Times, many students leave high school unprepared for the extra work and harder course content of some degree programs. Eric Addams told the news source he wasn't prepared for how different college work would be from high school assignments when he went to a private college in Massachusetts.

"[Schools are] saying they’re going to prepare you for college, so they should prepare you in all ways, academically and socially," Addams told the news source. "They weren’t really even preparing us to handle the course load."

If you're considering filling out college applications, enrolling in Advanced Placement classes can be a great way to experience what college courses are really like before you leave high school. If you're concerned about the workload at college, discuss it with your college adviser or friends and family members who have taken college classes already. 

Colleges in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland are benefiting from the number of students from New Jersey choosing to attend schools out of state, reports The Washington Post.

Students from high schools in New Jersey typically score well on the SAT college admissions test, but more than half of high school graduates filling out college applications for four-year degree programs do so for out-of-state colleges. More than 1,800 students attending the University of Maryland are from New Jersey.

In order to provide students in the state with more options, Governor Chris Christie recently endorsed a proposal to make Rowan University bigger by giving it control over Rutgers University, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education. The plans could make room for more in-state freshmen, which could result in lower tuition for students who want to study in New Jersey.

If you're considering filling out a college application for an out-of-state school, think about the extra tuition you'll probably have to pay. Going to a school in your home state can be much more affordable. However, when you're trying to find the college for you, focus on which schools offer the major you're interested in, as opposed to where a school is located.